Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe has announced on social media that the R1S electric SUV will be getting the Max Pack battery in combination with the Dual-Motor AWD configuration.
In a short video posted on Twitter, Scaringe said Rivian will be able to fit the Max Pack battery to the dual-motor R1S while maintaining the SUV’s seven-seat capacity. He added that deliveries for the new R1S configuration would start this fall.
The news was also posted on Rivian’s official Twitter account, with the automaker quoting a projected 390 miles (627 kilometers) of range for the R1S Dual-Motor AWD Max Pack. That would make it the longest-range Rivian R1S model to date.
Rivian did not say if the Max Pack would be offered with both dual-motor powertrains, the Dual-Motor AWD and Enhanced Dual-Motor AWD. The former is projected to make over 600 horsepower and 600 pound-feet (812 Newton-Meters) of torque, while the latter is said to deliver over 700 hp and 700 lb-ft (948 Nm) of torque.
The EV startup claims the R1S Enhanced Dual-Motor AWD will do 0-60 mph (96 km/h) in 3.5 seconds, while the R1S Dual-Motor AWD will cover the same sprint in 4.5 seconds.
The company has included the R1S Max Pack announcement in its Q4 2022 Rivian Shareholder Letter as well, noting that it intends to make this configuration available to its existing preorder customers, and that it expects “high demand and interest for this new offering.”
The automaker also said the R1S Max Pack with the dual-motor configurations powered by the in-house designed and manufactured Enduro drive unit is “engineered to deliver incredible on- and off-road performance.”
The Enduro motor will first be introduced as a single motor, front-wheel drive variant in Rivian’s commercial vans, and then as a dual motor, all-wheel drive variant for R1T and R1S vehicles in the fall of 2023.
The news about the R1S Max Pack comes shortly after Rivian informed R1T Max Pack reservation holders that they will receive their updated delivery window estimate in April instead of late February as previously announced. The automaker blamed a website issue for the delay, more specifically with the online vehicle configurator.
